Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Caleb White of Commerce Township gets a hug from Kim Alegers, 47, after he gives her a Christmas gift box. 'You are about to make me cry,' she said as they stood in the rain. Robert Tucker, 50, is at left. Caleb's message for the holidays? 'Don't take for granted what you have because there are some people out there who are struggling.' / Jessica J. Trevino/DFP

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Caleb White was on his way to the circus when, from his car window, he spotted a man curled up and sleeping on the side of the road.

The 6-year-old, puzzled, asked what the man was doing there. His parents explained that not everybody has a warm bed.

“He was really quiet for a while,” said his mother, Melissa Kennedy. “And then he said, ‘We have to build him a house.’ ”

Caleb’s homeless project was born. Instead of building houses, Caleb has spent the last five years trekking to downtown Detroit each holiday season to pass out Christmas presents to homeless people on the streets.

And the boy’s project has gone gangbusters.

Caleb, 11, of Commerce Township wraps the presents himself — each shoebox filled with a hat, hand warmers, food, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and other necessities.

“It feels really good to help them,” said Caleb, recalling the first encounter with the homeless man. “I just thought to myself, ‘What if one day I was going to turn up in that position?’ … I felt kind of bad for him. I just wanted to take action.”

That first year, Caleb asked his relatives to bring toiletries and hats to his home on Thanksgiving so he could put together some care packages for needy people. He collected enough goods to pass out about a dozen Christmas presents.

This year, he has about 150 boxes — many of which will go to centers for needy people — thanks to the help of his classmates at Clifford Smart Middle School in Walled Lake, which participated in the event. An apparel company in Boston also learned about Caleb’s project and this year donated 100 winter coats, which will be distributed through a Detroit project called Feed My Sheep.

For Caleb and his parents, a rewarding part of the project is coming face-to-face with homeless people and learning each person’s story.

Some of the folks are hard to forget: the homeless grandmother in mismatched and tattered clothes on a curb; a man digging through a trash can for food across from Ford Field who was so ravished, he started eating the sandwich Caleb gave him right away, unable to even speak; and the homeless war veteran whose life saddened Caleb.

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“He didn’t deserve that,” Caleb said. “He fought in the war, and I think he deserved more than that.”

Kennedy said her son’s empathy may strike some as unusual. But it’s real, she said, adding that her son strives to excel at everything he does.

He’s been the “little man of the house” since his parents divorced six years ago, she said. He’s an all-A student, plays the French horn, helps get his 6-year-old brother ready for school in the morning and wants to be a pediatric surgeon when he’s older.

“My boss has said there’s nothing average about that 11-year old boy,” Kennedy said. “He is just so extraordinary. … I feel really blessed.”

Caleb said his project has a message.

“Don’t take for granted what you have because there are some people out there who are struggling. … We have beds and toys, and they don’t even have a place to sleep,” he said. “I think we need to think about those people more.”

And then take action, he added, noting that’s what Christmas is about for him: helping others.

“You should give as much as you can,” he said. “And shouldn’t expect anything in return.”